‘Six of the best’ sees an influx of hospitality businesses up for sale.
Harbourside Motor Lodge overlooking Nelson Marina
A handful of prominent hospitality and accommodation business in Tasman Bay have simultaneously come onto the market for
sale in what a senior sales broker is calling “pure coincidence.”
Three sizeable accommodation providers in Tasman Bay, and three unrelated food and beverage operations are up for sale
across the region – all hitting the market publicly within days of each other.
The three motels and lodges are:
• Harbourside Motor Lodge overlooking Nelson Marina
• Gladstone Motel in Richmond
and
• The Laughing Kiwi Backpackers in Motueka.
Concurrently, the trio of food and beverage businesses on the market are:
• The Chocolate Velvet retail outlet in Nelson
• Verdict Bar and Café in Nelson
and
• Stoneridge Café and Maze on the rural outskirts of Nelson
The six business are all being marketed for sale by Bayleys Nelson. Salesperson Tony Vining said it was pure coincidence
that the portfolio of locations had all come onto the open market at the same time.
“The owners, independent of each other, have taken the maximum returns of what turned out to be a pretty good summer for
Tasman Bay at the end of the season,” Mr Vining said.
“Some of the establishments had been quietly on the market for a number of months as their vendors tested the proverbial
‘waters’ to see what interest was out there among their respective industry sectors. Now, by going public with full
marketing, it’s open season.
“With standard due diligence procedures and settlement dates taking between four to six months to conclude, the vendors
have put their venues on the market now to allow potential new owners to take possession in spring or into early summer.
“That’s quite standard practice for those in seasonally-trading businesses.”
Mr Vining expected potential buyer interest for the accommodation businesses would most likely come from ‘out of
towners’ relocating to Tasman Bay for lifestyle reasons, while the food and beverage operations would most likely be
bought by locals wanting to branch out into new business activities.
“The nature of this portfolio means that a wide breadth of the hospitality market is covered.
The accommodation providers for example range from a backpacker style in dorm and budget room configurations, through to
the Gladstone which is only a few years old and offers executive style rooms,” Mr Vining said.
“The food and beverage operations by comparison range from the Chocolate Velvet retail outlet with a bakery on site,
through to Verdict which is licensed and running as a lunch and dinner establishment with an after-works drink crowd.”
Mr Vining said that hospitality and tourism had long been a mainstay of Tasman’s economy, and there was little to
suggest any subsidence of this activity in the future.
“While the sector is somewhat seasonal, the best operators in the business have been those who have created a strong
local clientele to see them through the winter and shoulder periods, and those who have invested in marketing strategies
to the regionally in-bound tourism markets,” he said.
.
ends